Gauriel
by BettieNoir
Summary: Aurle is not like her brothers and sisters. She never minded for though she only has fur on her head and no snout, she was beloved and taken care of. Now starvation drives her Pack towards Lorien, their last hope for shelter against the coming frost.


Gauriel

We Wait

The forest was safe.

That much Frig knew and for now it would be enough. Over mountains cold with frost and desolate plains, her Pack had padded, great creatures of strength and ferocity, across the dangers of the earth. They had slain orcs and all manners of beasts and prey. They had born starvation, thirst and the nothingness of huntless nights that appeared with great abundance. Especially in the past few weeks.

The night before, the Alpha She-Wolf, Runa, had left the warmth and safety of the Pack, and trekked towards the darkness of the trees, disappearing slowly into the woods. If Runa came back the next morning, it would mean the woods were safe and acceptable for further passage. Perhaps even residence if only for a while.

:: We wait, my lady, in this pile of mangy hides for your return to us. ::

If she did not return, Frig, as her Beta wolf, would become the Alpha female and their Pack would be forced to search once again for sanctuary against the coming winter. The entire family huddled together beneath the moon in a great mass of fur and snout, for warmth and for comfort alike.

:: We wait, my lady, though the air is thin with the biting frost nipping at our minds. ::

Times were changing and it seems as if winters became longer every turn of the wheel. Wolf pups were conceived, birthed and dead by their second morning. Their old lands were conquered by wild men who loved nothing more than a warm wolf fur coat for their naked human pups. The woods were swamped by thatched roof shelters and shouting boys with spears. They had lost their forest and with no forest, there was no protection. And so while the Pack rested in tense silence, Frig volunteered to stay awake on watch. She wanted the solitude to think.

:: We wait, my lady, despite the battering loss of death hanging above us as surely as the moon. ::

Even then, she felt the late chill beneath thick shaggy coats. She, as well as most of the older wolves, ignored the cold through a hardiness that came with age and suffering, but the pups were still young and with no home, the future looked bleak. Already they had lost 2 cubs, one amidst the mountain crags. She had sunken into the snow and disappeared before its mother could fish it out and was gone forever. The second one had liked to put things in its mouth and before long he was dead, probably from eating something it found lying on the ground.

:: What is this bond that ties us to you, Earth Mother? Though we have been from your soil again and again? ::

Now there were only five cubs left including Runa's own daughter, Aurle. Just as their muzzles were useless without their teeth, the Pack was incomplete without its children. The pups were the key to survival, remembrance and above all, hope. Frig watched as Aurle snuggled deeper in the pile of wolf bodies, a tiny little cub nestled into her side.

:: Is it the same tie that binds the Alpha to her children? The moon to the earth? ::

And come morning, before the rising of the golden sun, Frig saw a tiny dot sprint towards them from the direction of the trees. Frig had risen on all four legs to greet her Lady and saw at once that Runa's tail was wagging. Her coat gleamed as if it were freshly washed. In an uncharacteristic show of joy, the two females licked each other's faces barking like pups.

:: Glory to the fertile land and the pregnant huntress moon. We howl in unison as the morning star fades. ::

The woods were safe.

The Pack was saved.

Haldir watched as the wolf ran away into the distance, head upright and proud.

The night before, he himself had spotted the mangy creature try to run across the Lorien borders, a grey dot on the plains. Orophin had nearly shot it down thinking it a trespasser; perhaps a drunk mortal or an enemy orc but it was Rumil who stopped their brother and brushed the foliage aside to reveal the poor creature.

For the rest of the night, the wardens played with and petted the wolf they merely called "Garav". A furry playful creature, fangs or no, was a welcome distraction during long hours at the fences. The female ones especially fawned over the animal for it was rare for a wolf to remain so passive to strangers. Passive but prideful. The animal had at first seemed to have the body of a mutt and the posture of a Valar. It was simply enormous. Haldir estimated that at full health, it could perhaps allow a small elf to ride on its back without too much trouble. By the end of the night, the wardens had grown quite fond of it.

Nevertheless, before the sun rose on Lorien, the wolf ran back out of woods at a run, fur freshly brushed and eyes gleaming.

He hoped he would see it again.

The forest was more than she could have hoped for. It was not the lush green of her homeland but a lovely gold color shining from the leaves like the sun on ice. Runa hoped the elves would display the same hospitality when they saw that she brought her Pack with her.

A small whimper from the back alerted her to the urgency of her mission. It was Aurle. Runa quickly turned to the back and gave her cub a lick on the cheek. She had placed the girl on the back of an older female, sturdy enough to withstand the weight. Aurle whimpered again and hid her face. It was obvious that the cub was fatigued. Perhaps the elves would be able to help the girl when they saw her. Perhaps they would even allow her to stay.

But no. It was not seemly for her to raise her hopes so easily. Not when they could just as quickly be dashed apart.

Runa made her way back to the front and the Pack was off, teeth and claws, running into the forest.

The wardens heard it from a distance; the sounds of pattering feet and barking. Frowning, Haldir leapt down from the tree and followed the noise. Did the she-wolf come back? It was all too likely that the wolf was scouting the area for its Pack. Though she seemed friendly enough, it was always wise to know the location of wild animals when they crossed into your forest.

Something beneath him moaned and he froze. Someone or something was in the undergrowth. Carefully, he bent down and parted the shrubbery...

**Author's Note –** No this is not ALL. This is only a snippet of the first chapter and it is barely edited. The concept is a plot bunny and I'm not sure if I should continue it. I'm bogged down with my original story, Umbra, as it is. Give me a "holla" if you like it and I'll try to keep going.

Tata!


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